There is no such thing as Overnight Success by Miss Malini | IMOTW

I started interviewing celebrities completely by accident. I used to do my radio show for many years, and I started doing a show called Pirate Radio where I was like, I'm so tired of hearing Bollywood, regular Bollywood interviews. I would ask a Bollywood star to come in and play their favorite English music and we talk about music. I guess the hardest part, honestly, was that when I started my business, there was no such thing as blogging and there was no such thing as social media influencing. So nobody really understood what we were doing. So everyone was like, acha, they're just playing on the Internet. Or what is she doing on her phone all the time? Says every overnight success takes 10 to 12 years. I think that what happens is that people only see the end result. Or just like, you know, when you're putting up a play or a movie, everyone sees the final product. They don't see the years of work that goes behind it. I would not recommend that you take the same piece of content and put the same thing everywhere, because people consume content differently, right? On Instagram, it's more visual. On Twitter, it's more conversational. On TikTok, it's 15 second movies. At the end of the day, what really summarizes who I am is that I feel like the Internet can be leveraged, especially for young women like your daughters, that the Internet can be such a great place, Social media can be such a great place for us to make connections and network with people and learn so much. I think my biggest advice is understand that when you watch people's Instagram or see their social media, it's a curation of the best moments of somebody's life. Nobody's life is perfect. Sounds dry. Sounds dry.

Hello.

Hi. Sorry to keep you waiting. How are you doing?

Not at all. Thank you very much.

My pleasure. Hi, guys. How are you doing? How's everybody?

I'm good. How are you?

Good.

Excellent. Thank you very much for taking the time out. I'll just quickly the premise for this call. So basically, so last 10 years I've been busy setting up a digital marketing agency in India. But we go back and forth because my wife and kids, they're staying here in Vancouver, we go back and forth. So I was becoming that absent father that I never wanted to be. So we said we should spend more time together. So we started telling them bedtime stories about my entrepreneurial journeys. They became very boring for them, so we made it about them. Elder one is Raya, younger one is Abhiana. Together made it Raviana. Passion was around chocolates made it around Chocolates. So Raviana Chocolates was a fictitious factory that we created. And then they hired a mentor who they would talk to once a week. So this whole story became our bedtime stories. It became so interesting to everybody in the family. So the girls decided to put a comic book series. We called it Bedtime Stories for Tomorrow's Entrepreneurs. And they went to different schools to speak about it and became authors and Amazon sellers and made a whooping profit of $550 in the first year as well. So that was venture number one. And to be able to spend more time actually last. A couple of years back, I met one of my mentors who said, how old is Raya? Raya was about 12 then. And he said, you've got only six summers because then she's going to fly off. So that sort of said, you know what? We need to make maximum use of our time. So we're now working on our second venture, which is called the Internet Moguls of the World, where we are interviewing people who leverage the Internet to spread their message, like yourselves. And we're traveling around the world. The mother doesn't like it very much, but we take time off from school and we go to different conferences, meet people and all of that. And we're putting together a podcast series, a summit, sort of a business together. So this means really a lot to us because this is a venture that comes out of a passion of all of us wanting to spend more time together. So that was just about the venture. Thank you very much. That's RAYA now, she's 14. Aviana, who's 4. Sorry, 10. Great. We'll get jumped right into it. So, you know, we normally say that this big world, when everybody's busy, it takes a very short, powerful story to be able to break through your stories. Breakthrough. So we call it the hero micro story. So if we were to start, and our audience will be listening and watching and reading this book and all of that, how would Ms. Marini explain her story? Who are you? And how do you best explain, sort of introduce yourself?

I think for me, a lot of people ask me this question. I think that for me, the key has been that I wasn't really planning to be an Internet influencer. And I think that was really what was important when I started. I was a backup dancer for Sophia for many years. I worked in radio, I worked in digital content. But I think for me, I guess at the end of the day, what really summarizes who I am is that I feel like the Internet can be leveraged especially for, you know, young women like your daughters, that the Internet can be such a great place. Social media can be such a great place for us to, you know, make connections and network with people and learn so much. But unfortunately, it's so crowded and cluttered with so much trolling and negativity, especially for women. All women's inboxes are filled with so much junk. So for me, the goal has been after 10 years of having an entertainment career in business, I wanted to shift over to doing something of more value. So I think at the end of the day, what it distills down to is that I really feel that it's really more about positivity. Right. I feel like if you look at our content, we're not your typical Bollywood blog. We don't do gossip. We made a very simple rule early on that we will never write anything we can't say to somebody's face, which I think is a very important rule. Everyone can apply to things that they do. You comment on the Internet or you're saying something, because I don't know, if you guys have watched a show called Black Mirror, maybe you've seen it. It's basically all about how the social media world and the Internet has allowed a lot of people and given them a free pass to behave in a way that you never would in real life. So for me, it's really about trying to change that landscape in India. You have your Bollywood actors and you have your, you know, a different level of cartoon characters, Bollywood actors, there's nothing in between. So for me, I think that net, net, we're trying to create the millennial Oprah for India. That's kind of what my brand stands for. If Oprah was going to create her network today using the Internet on a global scale for Indian millennials, that's literally what Ms. Malini is supposed to be.

Lovely, lovely. Thank you very much.

Okay, so my first question is, what was the most difficult part of setting up a business in a different country, moving countries, and what is the most helpful and key advice you've been given that you can share with the audience that has helped you through that?

I guess the hardest part, honestly, was that when I started my business, there was no such thing as blogging and there was no such thing as social media influencing. So nobody really understood what we were doing. So everyone was like, acha, they're just playing on the Internet, or what is she doing on her phone all the time? And, you know, it's a for profit business. So getting brands to understand that this is a viable way to promote your company. For anyone to spend money on a media company that's Internet based, they're used to buying hoardings, right? They're used to buying newspaper ads and radio ads. But nobody really understood digital when I started in 2008. So I think that was the largest struggle and finding quality writers. Because you couldn't hire people who are used to writing newspaper magazine articles. You needed young millennials like yourself. So I actually hired my entire team off Twitter. So I found people who actually live in that world on Facebook and Twitter and people who are consuming that audience. So they didn't need actually a ton of experience. They needed to be people who understood that voice and that language. I think the best advice I can give anyone when they're starting a business is have a little more process. I'm not very process driven, so I kind of like, I'm very reactive. I'll plan something and I'll do it. I think it's very important to equip people with the tools to do their job well. So if I were to go back and give myself, myself some advice, it would be have a little more process in place and don't try to do too many things at one time. I think all of us, we all have so many big goals. We have so many dreams. We're like, okay, I'll do all these different things. You should find one thing that you love to do and focus on that one thing. As much as you feel like, I'd love to do, like 100 different things.

Focus.

Focus on why.

Awesome. You know, I had. I wanted to ask you. A lot of people are now discovering you. As the Internet gets deeper into this, in India especially, more people are discovering Ms. Malini. A lot of people might be saying, you know what? You're such an overnight success and all of that. What you say to people about the story of becoming an overnight success, Is there something called an overnight success? You said 2008. That's almost been 12 years.

Yeah, there's. I mean, ask anyone. There's no overnight success. Every overnight success takes 10 to 12 years. I think that what happens is that people only see the end result or just like, you know, when you're putting up a play or a movie, everyone sees the final product. They don't see the years of work that goes behind it. So if you look at Bollywood movies, people, like, shoot for two, three years. They're in scripting for many years before that. So I think that the concept of overnight success is a Dangerous one, because when people start doing something, they expect results right away. I think all of us suffer from this, especially Gen Z, where everything is on a click, right? You can order food on Zomato, you can swipe for a date, you can call an Uber. All instant, but you can't find instant gratification at work. There is no instant success. It's a very dangerous way to look at things. But I understand where that thought process comes from, because today's day and age is very like, okay, I can get anything I want right now. It's on my fingertips, literally. So I would just say, like, don't expect anything to happen overnight. In fact, a lot of people say, like, how do you become a rich and famous blogger? And I always tell them, stop. Don't try to be a rich and famous anything. Find one thing that you love that you would do even if nobody paid you to do it, and make that your career. Because today what's great is you can. You can do anything you want, right? You can be a stylist, you can be a makeup artist, you can literally, you know, be a social media influencer. So literally think about what is that one thing that you're super passionate about? And there's a Japanese concept called ikigai, I don't know if you've heard of it, which says that your passion is at the center of four questions. What you love to do, what you're good at doing, what you can be paid to do, and what the world needs. So if you think about these four things and find one common factor, that's what you should do.

Perfect. That answers it so well. You know, you meet every celebrity on the planet and you interview them and you get them to, you know, sort of spill their heart out in front of you. Is there, is there today when people want to reach out to, you know, we sent you our story and you and your team was kind enough to respond back so fast. But when you reach out to all the famous celebrities all over the world, is there a particular formula that you need? Especially when you were starting off, how did people respond to you?

I mean, initially people were very, like, skeptical and not even skeptical. They didn't understand the digital world. But I. I think that what helped is that I'm not very intimidating. So, like, you have a world of, you know, Bollywood paparazzi where they have big cameras and they're asking you, you know, very invasive questions. I think I was probably unique in the way where I would come in and I'd ask a softer question. Or be nicer. And I always applied that rule. So over time, people, you know, we built those friendships. I've known these people. I started my, my career and Ranveer Singh, we started our careers at the same time, literally the same day. So I think that over time you build those relationships. It doesn't happen overnight. You see each other grow, you see each other's struggles and that's how you build that. So there's no instant formula to being able to call a celebrity and say, hey, talk to me. You have to build a reputation for being a good person, good quality content. And the Miss Valley brand luckily has evolved to that where people now know us. And I think it's because we started early on enough where there was not so much digital clutter. And we were unique in the fact that, like I said, we do positive content, which is quite rare in the gossip world.

We don't do gossip that is so amazing. We see that, we follow it. And hats off to you for keeping that vibe alive when it comes to meeting new people on an everyday basis and keeping that positivity alive for yourself, for your company and also the celebrities you meet. Do you have a ritual to stay grounded and positive because your wife, like you said, like I said, right behind your wall, your vibe attacks your tribe. So do you do something to keep that vibe always shining?

I don't know if I do anything particular. Like, I know that everyone's really into self care today. I'm really not that much. To be honest, I wish I was more. I think for me it's very simple. I always tell everyone my entire business is based on fomo. I have a fear of missing out. So I think that's really what motivates me, is that I feel like I don't want to miss anything. I want to be present. I want to be able to document things like you guys. I grew up all over the world. My father was a diplomat, so I grew up moving countries every three years. And I moved back to India and I was really amazed with how much enterprise there is. People are doing so many incredible things. And what people see about India on, you know, National Geographic, when they watch Slumdog Millionaire, you don't see, you know, the accomplishments, the enterprise. There's so much happening. They see a much larger. And of course there are villages and slums. All of that is real. But there's so much industry and enterprise, especially in the world of Bollywood and fashion, I wanted to document that. So that's literally why I started the blog. It was Kind of like my own personal journal, like a diary online to document that. And I think that it's important for people to see both sides of what India is. It's not just one or the other.

Excellent.

Yeah.

So my question is how do you spend time with your family? Like have quality time with your family, but also like have time to text all these people and interview them and like work really hard?

It's a very good question. I think that people always ask me about work, life, balance. I have a really hard time finding this balance. I think it's also because my world is so intertwined. Right. So where does work end? If I'm going to a Bollywood event and a party and then it continues into the night or. I mean, I really love what I do. Right. So I don't have a desk job. No two days are alike. Some days I'll be out at an event, some days I'll be in my pajamas writing. Some days I'll be shooting. Some days I'll be doing interviews like this. So there is really no fixed formula. I think the way I try to spend time with my friends and family is I really like to do things right. So I love doing game night. I'm a big puzzle freak. So when I want to decompress, I sit and make like a 3,000 piece puzzle. You're smiling because you do it too, right? I really find these are the things that de stress me. I like to play pool, so. And badminton. So little random things that I find to find personal space. It's not a conscious effort, but I think my advice to everyone is find something that you love and are passionate about. Maybe it's not that easy to be like, okay, now I'm going to do self care and focus on myself. Maybe they don't have to be specific things you do. Just find something that you enjoy doing over and above work and that will help you de stress.

Okay, so when did your side hustle take over as your main hustle? And what was a huge shot of that you use that the audience would love to hear to quickly make reasonable profit off your hustle?

Well, good question. I think my side hustle, exactly like you said, I always tell people I always did multiple jobs, right? So I was working as radio dj, I was writing a gossip column, I was running digital content for Channel B and I started the blog just as a hobby on the side. And I quickly realized that my side hustle should become my main hustle because I would finish a whole day of work and want to go home and write my blog. And that became increasingly clear to me that I love doing this so much, why don't I do it full time? The biggest problem is that people feel like, oh, if I'm not making money off of it, I can't do it as a career. So which is why you don't have to do either. Or you can have, like you said, like a main, like a job that continues. And if you love doing something, do it on the side and eventually it can become your main hustle. I think my biggest piece of advice is this is don't ever discount anything you do. Whether it's an internship or a short term job, everything you do will equip you to finally find what your purpose is, what you're supposed to do in life. And I realized looking back, being a dancer, you think has nothing to do with what I do. But being a dancer taught me teamwork. You can be in a dance troupe, but if one person is performing in a different pace and not in sync with each other, it doesn't work. You learn teamwork. The biggest lesson I learned from radio was, you know, people think when you're talking on the radio, you're broadcasting to millions of people. But if you think about how all of us listen to the radio or podcast, it's very personal experience. Each person is having a very individual, independent, personal relationship with their favorite radio jockey, which is why we think they're all so good looking right in your mind. The theatre of the mind, that that's how you picture them. And I try to apply that to my blog as well, to write as I speak and connect with people. I think the biggest mistake people make when they're looking at the digital world, they become very robotic and we forget that the other people on the other side of the Internet are real people too. And the problem is that you've seen on social media is a lot of fatigue. We've turned everyone to a number count. How many followers do I have? How many likes do I get? You have to remember that the people who are liking and following are real people as well. And I think that's my biggest learning and advice is that don't forget that these are real people and behave with them the way you would like someone to witness your life.

In today's day and age, when you're setting up a brand, we're setting up our own brand, Internet moguls of the world, how important is it like would you say just focus on one channel, like do your blog and do it well, or would you Say that gone are those days and today you need to be omnipresent and every channel is equally important.

I think you have to be omnipresent, you have to be platform agnostic. Because people. Gone are the days where you can say, okay, this is where I am. Come to me. You have to go to where the party is. So if people on Facebook or Twitter or TikTok take your content and customize it for that platform, and even if you're in multiple platforms, I would not recommend that you take the same piece of content and put the same thing everywhere. Because people consume content differently. Right? On Instagram, it's more visual. On Twitter, it's more conversational. On TikTok it's 15 second movies. So. So whatever your content is, especially for you guys, if you're creating it, think about the platform you're on and what is the audience? Email list.

A subscriber based on email.

Yeah. You know, the problem is that all of our emails have so much junk. Like how many mailers do you open? Right. I think all of us get so talking about being an Internet mogul and that, but think about your audience and what else they're interested in and create a community where they will come for more than your content. So it's very important, and I always give this analogy that, you know, we forget that we behave online in a way that we wouldn't in real life.

Right.

You wouldn't go to someone's party, put up pictures of yourself and leave without talking to anyone. Right. You wouldn't hand out your business card everywhere and not pick up the phone when they call. So use that same logic. How would you. If you're saying that you're running a company online, how would you behave if it was a brick and mortar business? You would go interact with people, you keep in touch with them, you create community around them. So find a platform depending on what your target group is, what your age range is, and create a community there, whether it's a Facebook group or an Instagram handle that talks about things more than just what you do.

Got it?

Okay. So when and why did you start interviewing celebrities and what has been like? Firstly, when we reach out to people like you, the most difficult part is trying to balance school and making the videos or doing the interviews. So what is the most difficult part for you?

So first part, I started interviewing celebrities completely by accident. I used to do my radio show for many years and I started doing show called Pirate radio where I was like, I'm so tired of hearing Bollywood Regular Bollywood interviews. So I would ask a Bollywood star to come in and play their favorite English music and we'd talk about music for like two hours. And I think it was really refreshing for them because they didn't usually get to do that. And I was trying to start doing it. Finding a balance is hard, but I think that you just have to, you know, find a process and create a calendar. And I think your dad can probably help you figure that out. At the end of the day, like you said, I mean, I'm a great believer that you should get an education, you should work hard, study hard. But honestly, work experience and doing things like this will teach you so much more than sitting in a classroom will. So I don't think you need to separate that so much. Don't feel like it's not. You're learning so much by doing any interview. You learn from the way that you ask. But I think just, you just have to carve out time and don't feel like what you're doing in terms of these interviews are not as important. You're learning a lot. So think of it as like extra.

After school work, I guess we've been going for. We just came back yesterday from a three day conference to San Diego. We met everybody. So the girls are well on their side hustle. Adhyana, you have another question?

Yeah, so my other question is. So we use the term.

I mean your dad is a great example of that, right? That he's being able to create a side hustle with his family. I think you're winning.

Great. So can we ask you what made you say yes to our request when we sent you that email?

I mean, honestly, we get a lot of different requests and I think you can thank Jancha for this. Yancha does a lot of filtering for me and what we should do. And I think what you guys are doing is amazing. I'm always very inspired by people who are encouraging of their children to fulfill their dreams. I think it's very important in this day and age that we don't get caught up. But I think just, you know, you just have to carve out time and don't feel like what you're doing in terms of these interviews are not as important. You're learning a lot. So think of it as like extra after school work, I guess.

You know, we've been going for. We just came back yesterday from a three day conference to San Diego. We met everybody. So the girls are well on their. The only promise that they have to keep to us is that they stay in school while we do this side hustle. Abhiana, you have another thing?

Yeah. So my other question is. So we use the term Internet moguls a lot, and our definition of an Internet mogul is someone who spends time with their family, spends quality time with their family, but also works hard. So what would your definition of an Internet mogul be?

You know, I think you guys are proving it exactly what you're saying. I think that I really like your version and definition of it because most people, when they think of an Internet mogul, would only think of the individual person and their empire. I really like that you've expanded to include family. And I think that's really what's key. I think that, like, you're saying a mogul or prince or a king or a queen is really someone who's able to take everyone with them. And I think. I mean, your dad is a great example of that. Right. That he's being able to create a side hustle with his family. I think you're winning.

Great. So can we ask you what made you say yes to our request when we sent you that email?

I mean, honestly, we get a lot of different requests. And I think you can thank Yancha for this. Yansha does a lot of filtering for me and what we should do. And I think what you guys are doing is amazing. I'm always very inspired by people who are encouraging of their children to fulfill their dreams. I think it's very important in this day and age that we don't get caught up in just the work in the hustle. I think we get so caught up in living tomorrow or worrying about the past. But this is the moment, right? We're all living in this moment right now. We're having this conversation right now. And these are the things that you remember. So very happy to be part of your journey.

We will surely remember this. Thank you so much. Just a humble brag. The girls were at Gary Vee's office a few weeks ago at Grant Cardone. So we made a list of people we wanted to meet. The girls are making short micro videos. I'm just making sure that they reach those people through the right email. And I think we have a very good success rate so far. And we're feeling confident in our second venture.

Yeah. Well, congratulations, and I wish you all the very best.

The girls come back to India every summer. Once a year, every summer. They like it because their grandparents are there. Otherwise, in beautiful British Columbia.

Next time you're in Bombay, definitely look me up.

Yes, I love that.

Who's that one celebrity who you feel that you know what has to be on the Ms. Marini show, and you've not been able to get that person yet?

I think we talk to everyone. I think in terms of the show, probably Aamir Khan. I've always been a big fan of him since I was, like, nine years old. I mean, we've been very lucky. It's been a long time. So pretty much everyone on my list has made it.

Would you love to be?

Definitely.

Who's your favorite celebrity?

Okay. Bollywood, I would say, because I'm a dancer, and so I would say Tiger Shop.

That's really good. Yeah. What about you?

I'm not really sure. No, I don't think so. Not really.

Both of us can maybe have Jennifer Lopez as our biggest. Excellent. Any more questions? I know we asked for a limited time, and we are almost running out of time.

Yeah. So I just have a last question to all the teenagers who are watching this. A lot of people in high school right now, because I started vlogging in the summer. And my message is just to love yourself, because a lot of teenagers go through insecurities and all that. So it takes a lot of guts to do what you are doing, and so do your message to all the teenagers. What is. What is the biggest advice you can give to them if they're going through bullying or they have their insecurities? What is the biggest advice you can give to them to get through high school?

I think my biggest advice is, you know, understand that when you watch people's Instagram or see their social media, it's a curation of the best moments of somebody's life. Nobody's life is perfect. So don't feel jealous or incompetent or insecure that your life doesn't look like somebody's Instagram feedback. Nobody's life is like that. And, you know, as much as social media can be a great place to connect with people and have fun and decompress, it can also be sort of a dark hole and a slippery slope if you start comparing yourself to other people. I suffer from the same thing, you know, I mean, I work. I live online so much. So I found myself going online and checking how many likes and how many followers and how many views, and I stopped doing that. And whenever I open my Instagram and I start feeling like that, I go to somebody else's profile and comment and like or share, and I. That's my advice is that if you're feeling, you know, a bit alone, in. In the social media world, and you're feeling like no one's seeing you go be somebody else's witness.

Nice.

I love that.

Nice.

All right, cool. Thank you, guys, and congratulations and all the very best.

Thank you so much. We'll send you the first copy once it's out.

Definitely. Okay. By.